CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Cross-Fires on Asoka Handagama's "Aksharaya(Letter of Fire)"

By Ramani D.Wickramaratne

It is most heartening to note that Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage Mr. Mahinda Yapa Abhayawardane is standing firm on his decision to ban the screening of "Aksharaya" in this country. However, there seems to be 2 schools of thought- one which is looking at the film only from the producer's angle & argue that banning it would hamper the democratic rights of artists while the other and more important school of thought, is that as adults we owe it to our viewers that a moral code of ethics need to be considered when approving films for public viewing.

Highly respected personalities in the field of cinema like Tissa Abeysekera, Lester James Peiris, Gunadasa Amerasekera, Daharmasena Pathiraja. Dharmasena Bandaranayake, Upul Shantha Sannasgala & Asoka Handagama have all come out very strongly against the National Film Corporation as well as the Minister of Culture & National Heritage on the grounds that the decision to ban the film " will lead to dangerous repercussions in the future" & most of them are of the opinion that a film once approved by the Public Performance Board cannot be banned by The Minister. According to an article which appeared in the "Irida Divaina"(14th May,2006) written by Mr. Wimaladasa Samarasinghe,Secretary Ministry of Culture and National Heritage he states that Dr. Somaratne Balasuriya who is supposed to have approved the film had himself confessed that he had not seem the film himself but he agreed with the views of a few people on the Board to approve it! According to Mr. Samarasinghe's article he also states that although Asoka Handagama states that Dr. Chandrasiri Palliyaguru saw the film that Dr. Palliyaguru has actually not seen it! How can a Chairman of PPB approve a film based on what others say, if he himself has not seen it? This alone shows that there is some other sinister hand / hands that are working against saner judgments. Have the officials of the PPB acted with responsibility and with the best interests of our society when they haphazardly approved this film merely because Asoka Handagama is an award winning film producer? According to Chandana Prasanna-Convenor of "Tharuna Chitrapatakaruwange Sanvidhanaya"(Lankadeepa 5th May,2006)- the Minister's decision to ban the film is " an act of State Terrorism" and he appeals to the Minister to be democratic and permit the screening of the film! According to Lester James Peiris in his article in The Island (26th April,2006) he states "Ban on Handagama's Film: Lethal Blow to Freedom of Expression" and in his article he states "…………on the other hand, to call it an obscene film is preposterous. It is an attempt to introduce controversial new themes, exploring the darkest recesses of the human psyche, expressed in compelling, often violent images on the tragic consequences of incest, a theme as old as Greek drama………………….." In the "Manjsawa " page 32 (14th May,2006) Upul Shantha Sannasgala states " Adults with a Child's Mind Cannot Understand "Aksharaya". " It seems that adults who are concerned about the impact on the society by screening this kind of film- are all adults with " a child's mind"- this is the level to which he will go to further ridicule adults who are concerned about the morality of this film!

The numerous articles we have seen in the Sinhala and English newspapers regarding Asoka Handagama's controversial film "Aksharaya" (Letter of Fire) make the readers wonder whether or not there are any standards of morality in this society anymore? From a cinematographers viewpoint, "Aksharaya" could very well be a masterpiece. However, is that the only criteria by which a film is judged? Does the PPB have any or no moral obligation towards our society and our country? The PPB comes under the Ministry of Culture or is it not so? If it does- then the Minister of Culture is the overall boss of the Ministry under which it comes. If that be the case, why do his critics say that he has no authority to ban a film that has been approved by the PPB-after all, The Minister does have a moral obligation towards our society even if the PPB does not think that it has fallen short of it's moral obligations.

Whatever the arguments for the film, there is no doubt that the officials of the PPB are all husbands, fathers or brothers in our society- personally, will they permit their kith and kin to see this film without any feeling of guilt and embarrassment? Why would they willfully wish to insult our culture and society by permitting the screening of films such as this? Would they permit their child to act in such a film and subject their child, daughter or wife to lifelong trauma by being part and parcel of such a production? Do they sincerely hope that their own families will grow up to be responsible & moral examples to the society around us? Is this film representative of our society as a whole? Do they hope that those who view this film will follow the message given in this film and end up as perverts setting a " example" for others to follow? What is the end result going to be? As adults, do we want our society to be a wholesome, healthy and decent society which even other countries may take as an example? These are all questions that naturally come into the minds of people who have been following the sequence of events related to "Aksharaya" & the massive pressures being put on the authorities.

Some have argued that similar books and films have been made in other countries- if so why is it bad for Sri Lanka? Western countries have their own cultures and heritage while Sri Lanka has its own cultural heritage. Our bounden duty must not be to ape the west but to uphold decency and morality to steer our own society on a path of decency and morality.

One may also argue " Why did Asoka Handagama not use foreign actors, film "Aksharaya" in a foreign country since it is with foreign funding- and target the screening to a foreign audience rather than Sri Lanka? This might have been well received in those countries and highly acclaimed as a masterpiece and no doubt he would have received many awards as well! Why did he choose to insult motherhood, the judiciary and the children of this country? Why do all his productions show a morbid picture of Sri Lanka? Is this not sadism towards one's Motherland? The majority of our Sri Lankan society is by no means so vile and perverted- a commercial- minded minority must not be permitted to insult our country in this manner. Our national identity and cultural heritage must be upheld at all times, against "cheap commercialism" in the name of "globalization!"

It is time that people holding responsible positions in this country both in the field of arts and politics stop to think and understand, that we do need to consider our Sri Lankan society with absolute respect and act in a responsible/dutiful manner to produce films which will give an educative & decent moral message to our youth as well as adults, help to inculcate moral standards that need to be respected and upheld at the highest levels if this country hopes to become a safe and healthy nation.

Commercialism has destroyed everything decent and moral in this country for too long & this trend must be stopped. We trust that Minister Mahinda Yapa Abhayawardane, Child Protection Authority and The Judiciary as well as Human Rights Authorities will take every step required to ensure that sanity prevails in this country and cheap commercialism has no place now or in the future. Serious consideration must be taken by the relevant authorities to ban the production of similar films when the scripts are submitted for approvals in the future & not wait until it is this late.

"Human Rights" (as is often misinterpreted and misused for personal agendas) includes the "Rights" of our society to enjoy decency and morality in this country and ensure the security of our younger generations who will eventually become the future leaders of Sri Lanka. We must nurture a society with proper values-not perversion!

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